Shiraz

Shiraz (shēräz`), city (1991 pop. 965,117), capital of Fars prov., SW Iran, at an altitude of c.5,200 ft (1,580 m). It is a commercial and industrial center and has long been known for its wines, carpets, and metalwork. Other manufactures include textiles, petrochemicals, cement, and sugar. An old settlement, Shiraz became an important commercial, military, and administrative center in the late 7th cent. In the 9th cent. two brothers of Imam Riza died in Shiraz; their tombs are still visited by pilgrims. From about the 10th cent. Shirazi traders were active along the E African coast. Timur sacked the city in the late 14th cent., but later, under the Safavids, it was embellished with numerous new buildings. Under Karim Khan, the city served (1750–79) as capital of Persia; it declined after Karim's successor, Aga Muhammad Khan, moved the capital to Tehran. Hafiz and Sadi, two of Persia's greatest poets, are buried in garden-enclosed tombs in Shiraz. A university and the Fars Museum are also in the city. Nearby are the ruins of Persepolis, established by Darius I (fl. 521 B.C.–486 B.C.) as capital of the Persian empire. The palace was destroyed by Alexander in 330 B.C.

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Shiraz

Industrial and commercial city (pop., 2006: 1,227,331), south-central Iran. It was important during the Seleucid (312–175 BC), Parthian (247 BC–AD 224), and Sasanian (c. AD 224–651) periods but reached its economic and cultural peak later, during the Islamic period. In the late 14th century, Timur twice occupied Shiraz, which had by that time become a Muslim centre rivaling Baghdad. In 1724 it was sacked by Afghan invaders and later became the capital of the Persian Zand dynasty (1750–94). Famous for its wine, gardens, shrines, and mosques, it was the birthplace of the Persian poets Sa'di and Hafez, who remain local icons and whose tombs are located there.